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The opening of the Belgorod State University unit was preceded by a meeting between Vladislav Kuchmistoy, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and Acting Head of the Preparatory Faculty of BelSU, and the Minister of Culture of Iraq, Ahmed Al Falakia, who expressed his willingness for long-term co-operation Vladislav Kuchmistoy met with the Minister of Culture of Iraq Ahmed Al Falakia, who expressed readiness for long-term co-operation.

- The interest of young people to get education in Russia is growing every year. Cultural and educational exchanges occupy an important place in the development of ties between our countries. Efforts should be made to ensure accessibility and openness of Russian education. We are open for cooperation with relevant departments and universities of Russia, - said Mr Minister.

Vladislav Kuchmisty noted that the opening of the preparatory faculty is not only an important step in preparing foreign applicants for higher education in Russia, but also a contribution to the promotion of the Russian language abroad, which is one of the priority tasks of the international policy of the Russian Federation, the most important tool of cultural, humanitarian and scientific and educational cooperation with foreign countries.

The universities of the two countries were congratulated on the expansion of cooperation by Mr Elbrus Kutrashev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Iraq, and Mr Adel Al Rikabi, Deputy Minister of Higher ��è��Ƶ and Scientific Research of Iraq, who took part in the opening ceremony of the preparatory faculty of NIU BelSU on the basis of Al-Mamoun University in Baghdad.

V.A. Kuchmistoy also met with Mr. Hussein Al-Safi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, to discuss cooperation in education and science, including joint implementation of educational programmes with Iraqi universities, exchange of students and scientific-pedagogical workers, scientific research and participation in conferences. During the visit, an agreement was also reached to develop co-operation with the Institute of Diplomacy and Baghdad State University.

During the visit to Jordan, negotiations on co-operation were held with the vice-rectors of the leading universities of the country: Princess Sumaya University of Technology and Jordan State University. An agreement was also reached to open a branch of the preparatory faculty of BelSU on the basis of the Centre for Modern Languages, whose director is Dr Faris Youssef Hassan Awad.

- The branches of the Preparatory Faculty of BelSU are intended to become important resource centres for the Russian language and culture. Our specialists in the sphere of methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language will provide methodological support to teachers in Iraq and Jordan, participate in popularisation of national achievements in the sphere of culture, science, education, information and communication technologies. We also plan to hold a number of joint scientific, educational and outreach activities with universities of Arab countries, - said Vladislav Kuchmisty.

During the meeting with Vladislav Kuchmisty, Alexey Bukin, Head of the Russian House in Jordan, promised to support the projects of BelSU with the universities of Jordan.

It should be reminded that in 2023 BelSU became a venue for the international conference "Russia and the Arab World: Prospects for Cooperation in ��è��Ƶ and Culture", which served as an impetus for the opening of the Mahmoud Darwish Centre for Arabic Language and Culture. During the year the Centre has been actively working to build and develop ties with educational and cultural organisations in the Arab world.

Active development of cooperation with the Middle East and North African region, including the organisation of high-level meetings in Jordan and Iraq, is taking place with a great personal contribution of the Ambassador of BelSU in the Middle East and North Africa, postgraduate student of BelSU Medical Institute Ahmed Mansour. According to him, there is a stable interest to study in Russia in the Middle East countries.

- A large number of students from our region come to study in Russia, and graduates of Russian universities from Jordan and Iraq who have graduated from different years express their desire and readiness to take part in the work of Russian language and culture centres, to represent and promote the interests of Russian education in the Middle East region. All these are important steps in strengthening friendship and co-operation between our countries, - said Ahmed Mansour.

During the visit he also held a meeting with the graduates, where Ahmed Mansur invited them to join the Association of Foreign Graduates and Students of Higher ��è��Ƶ Institutions of the Belgorod Region, of which he is the Chairman.